Outdoor Entertaining: How to Make Your Outdoor Area Great Year-Round?

For a person who loves partying, every season is party season, not just summer. When it comes to entertaining outdoors, with the right sets of furnishings you’d be able to pull off unforgettable parties even when the hot days are long behind.

Food Prep

The secret to being a good host is surprising your guests with delicious meals, but how would you have the time to prepare those meals while still making the most of being in the company of your friends? The answer is simple: outdoor kitchen!

1. The BBQ

Having in mind how essential BBQ is in Australia, it goes without saying savoury meat should be on your menu. Now, though the options of barbecue are vast, one of the greatest choices happens to be the 5 burner barbecue, ideal for large parties and unmatched outdoor living space.

Apart from the impressive size, this type is prepared for whatever challenge you throw at it in terms of meals thanks to the roasting hood with an on-board temperature gauge and warming rack. In addition, once your feast is over and you’ve got cleaning chores to take care of, the good thing is the material, durable cast iron in vitreous enamel finish which makes cleaning piece of cake.

In other words, when looking for the ideal BBQ, besides paying attention to the size as well as number and power of burners, the style (built-in or free-standing), and the type of fuel, it’s important to consider the materials too which indicate both durability and maintenance.

If you aren’t familiar with it much and wonder how to clean a barbecue easily, there are many ways to do so, especially when it comes to the degreasing part and preparing the grill for the next party, and even stuff you have at home, like the aluminium foil can be of help.

2. Cooking Space and Storage

Much like the necessity to have the 5 burner barbecue outdoors, a good host needs the adequate surfaces and storage units with various compartments to have all the ingredients at hand and enough space to prepare them. The storage units come in handy with neatly putting all the utensils, glassware, and napkins out of sight while still having them around.

In case you don’t have that much of outdoor area to begin with, and you’re afraid of cluttering the space, you could still add at least one unit with drawers and countertop to make entertaining easy for you; trust me, it would save you from many trips to the indoor kitchen to get the required ingredients or utensils and speed up cooking and serving.

3. Refrigeration

Mouthwatering meals go well with refreshing drinks, be it beer, cocktails, wine or even juices and water – whatever you and your guests are up for, which is why an outdoor fridge or freezer is more than welcome.

Depending on how many parties you intend to throw and how often, it would help you decide on one of the two, or even the two together, but if you’re looking for a space-savvy solution then perhaps it’s best to get a small but mighty freezer that could fit right in the storage unit.

Outdoor Partying Year-Round

When you’re having fun with the people you love, nothing can spoil it, not even the weather, yet to be able to use the area year-round even in the colder days or when it’s raining, you need to have proper coverage.

1. Suitable Shelter

What’s great about this kind of investment is the fact it’s useful for the sunny days too when you could really use a good shade, so it’s safe to say it’s money well spent when you decide to put up a pergola with a slanted roof that you can later decorate with climbing plants or an awning.

On a side note, don’t be surprised if it turns out to be quite the stylish addition to your home and ends up improving the curb appeal with their eye-catching designs, materials and colours! A word of caution, prior to getting such coverage it’s important to measure up precisely to know how much coverage it is you need and which areas it would include; would it be just the 5 burner barbecue, the food prep area as a whole, or the eating area too.

2. Keep it Warm

The party doesn’t have to end just because it’s getting chilly, however to make the area more inviting, especially if you intend to use it in autumn as well, it’s nice to introduce a fire pit, strategically placing it near the seating area. The accompanying advantage you could also count on is getting a cosy appeal.

Of course, there are other options to consider if you aren’t that much of a fan of fire pits, or have space in mind, so you could opt for a heater instead, either electric or gas, and immediately make the area more pleasant and comfortable without spending too much money on it.